


Not Enough

by mneiai



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2013-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-06 08:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1104541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mneiai/pseuds/mneiai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David didn't make it to the cupboard in time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Enough

When David fell, he curled around Emma, ignoring how it pulled at his wounds. She was protected by his body as he landed on the hard floor, just a few feet from the door to her nursery, her salvation. It was too hard to get back to his feet, so he tried to crawl, holding Emma to his chest and hoping that none of his blood was dripping onto her. She didn't need to spend her first day covered in proof that her father had died.

He had managed to push the door open when the tell-tale clicks of Regina's heels filled the hallway. Turning, propping himself against the door frame, he abandoned his sword to wrap both of his arms around Emma. The blade wouldn't do anything against Regina, but maybe his body would be enough to protect Emma.

But she held him down with magic, cackling as he pried Emma from his grasp. Despite his struggles, there was nothing he could do but watch as she conjured a dagger in her other hand. She smirked down at him, said something he couldn't hear through his panic, and plunged her hand down, the blade slicing into Emma's tiny little chest.

David's cry echoed through the castle. She released her hold on him and he dove for the body she had dropped carelessly to the ground, clutching it to him once more, rocking as he tried to deny what he'd seen. Regina was cruel, Regina would fake it just to terrorize him, but he knew she hadn't.

Her hand gripped his hair, pulling his head back so he would look up at her. "Now, you. You still have your uses," she murmured, hand gentling as she brought it around, tracing her fingers over his cheek. Her magic tingled through him, no longer the brute force, but instead deceptively gentle. He could feel it healing his wounds, though it couldn't stop the horrible ache in his chest.

The wind picked up around them, but in the distance he could hear Snow, now, having come to help. He didn't know how he'd explain what happened, didn't know how she'd ever be able to look at him, to love him, knowing he'd let Emma die. 

But then the Curse took them and with it his memories, leaving behind only the vague knowledge that he'd lost the most important thing he'd ever had. He woke up as he felt his wife stirring on the other side of the bed and turned to face her, appreciating the fine lines of her body as she stood. "Have a good day at work," he mumbled, knowing that she had to work hard as the mayor, even of such a small town.

**Author's Note:**

> Quick drabble originally posted to my tumblr knightinflannel.


End file.
